Key takeaways

  • If you work from home, creating a dedicated work space is a must. Don’t just gut it out from your couch or kitchen table.
  • Moderately priced buys like a foot rest, greenery, and natural light go a long way.
  • We’re team standing desk and share our favorite pick below.

Working from home is a whole vibe. I confess, for better or worse, I’m a proud millennial, ‘I just wanna work in leggings and set my own hours,’ pre-pandemic remote work aficanado.

Stereotypes aside, there is an art to working so close to so many distractions — laundry, dishes, “Friends” reruns, pieces of mail that each represent one more thing on my personal to-do list.

I first started working from home in 2016, and 9 years later, I rarely actually wear leggings all day. I have come to appreciate a series of other essentials that have helped me create space to work where I also live and play.

Here’s what I’ve learned.

  • The mission: designate a specific place for work in your home
  • What to buy: a standing desk for inside and a lap desk for moments you want to work outside

‘Give it legs,’ I like to say. A dedicated workspace helps me plug in to a work state of mind. You may not have to drive to get there, but make your workspace its own destination within your home.

And, yes, I’m team standing desk. It took me a few years into my work-from-home journey to invest in a standing desk, but it’s proven worthy. No matter your desk, one thing is for sure — don’t tough it out with your laptop at the kitchen table.

I find it helpful to create separation. I am most at ease when my kitchen is a place to retreat to for lunch and dinner, not the place I’ve been awkwardly hunched all day. If I do spend the occasional working hour from my living room or outside, I have a lap desk to make it more comfortable.

But I’m at my best when the lines between workspace and unwind space don’t get too gray. Closing my laptop and walking away at the end of the day, physically leaving my workspace as if I were leaving the office to drive home, is a nice feeling.

  • The mission: Give yourself some guardrails to keep posture and pain in check.
  • What to buy: vertical mouse, lumbar pillow, foot rest, laptop stand

I’m not going to preach about the perfect office chair; I’ve honestly yet to find it (I even tried sitting on an exercise ball). And even so-called ergonomic chairs require a certain level of awareness not to slouch. In my experience, focus breeds slouching no matter what. There’s a reason workouts are dedicated to this kind of thing. Posture is hard.

Unless you’re strapping your shoulders in with some kind of cutting-edge ergonomic straitjacket, you’re likely going to slouch. So step one — set periodic timers to remind yourself to check in with your posture.

Then, consider outfitting your desk with a few more moderately priced items that help support good posture and ergonomics. My vertical mouse is perhaps my favorite thing on my desk. I like to keep a lumbar-style pillow on my chair. I’ve used a footrest and laptop stand on and off, depending on my setup.

These are all tools I’ve found helpful, but it’s very much a play-with-what-works for you endeavor.

  • The mission: Set the scene with intentional tchotchkes.
  • What to buy: mood lighting, greenery, aromatherapy

Be intentional. If there’s one offender to successfully working from home, it’s a messy desk. Clutter is the enemy anywhere, but especially at home, where there tend to be more opportunities to procrastinate with chores and other personal to-dos.

So I do my best to keep a tidy workspace. Tap into your inner minimalist or Marie Kondo — keep just a few things that bring you joy and serve a purpose. Aside from one photo frame, a tissue box, and a candle, there’s not much that gets permanent residence on my desk.

Mind you, I type this as there is an unwanted stack of papers to my left. Sometimes life piles up that way, and it’s just about how you reset.

House plants are a nice touch. I happen to live in a sunny and warm climate, but if you don’t and you’re prone to seasonal anxiety or depression in the winter months, you might also consider a therapy light that’s meant to mimic natural light indoors.

My (free) secret weapon

I discovered this site years ago: Coffitivity.

Many remote workers seek refuge at coffee shops when they need a change of scenery, and this site basically mimics those sounds when you can’t actually get out (or just don’t want to).

I have rediscovered it many times over when I’m going through a work-from-home slump.

For whatever reason, the coffee shop murmur playing in the background does help me focus. Since I was first turned on to it, they’ve added many more options, like rain or bird noises.

It’s like Spotify for friendly soundscapes, and I love it.